The diocesan system of Christian church government in Ireland was set up by the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111 and modified by the Synod of Kells in 1152. The country is divided into four ecclesiastical provinces each headed by an archbishop, and 22 dioceses, with their respective bishops.

Many were originally established from monastic settlements.  Diocesan boundaries which, in most cases, date from the first Christian Millenmium reflect the zone of influence of a monastery, rather than a well defined administrative area.  In the West, on particular, some dioceses have what are known as “island parishes”, completely surrounded by the territory of another diocese.  It will be noticed that some dioceses have double-barrelled names, reflecting the integration of two ancient dioceses into one administrative and pastoral unit.

Each diocese has a Director of Vocations whose responsibility is

1. to promote awareness of the Christian vocation which is first celebrated in Baptism;
2. to help those who wish to discern the particular call of God in their own lives;
3. to promote awareness of the particular vocations to service in the Church as a Diocesan priest or as a deacon.
    

The link buttons will allow you to view the contact details for each diocese. In many cases, you will be able to visit the web-sites of the selected dioceses, and through them, the vocations pages.